Red Bull Ford Powertrains (RBFPT), the future supplier of hybrid power units for Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri in the 2026 Formula One race season and beyond, has harnessed the power of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to build their next-gen, 100-percent sustainable fuel engine.
By leveraging OCI’s cutting-edge cloud technologies, RBFPT engineers are advancing the development of a sophisticated and sustainable engine, a critical step in their quest to revolutionize Formula One racing.
The integration with OCI allows RBFPT to perform complex simulations to evaluate concepts and refine designs before physically prototyping the engine. OCI’s robust processing power, including bare metal compute and cluster networking, enables the team to achieve this without the expense and time associated with implementing a large-scale on-premises high-performance computing solution. This streamlined approach expedites the design and delivery of a high-performance and eco-friendly engine while offering the flexibility to scale resources as needed.
Christian Horner, Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO, emphasized the pivotal role Oracle plays in this ambitious endeavor, stating, “Our powertrains team is operating at an incredibly high speed to debut competitive power units that use 100-percent sustainable fuels by 2026. Oracle gives us the best infrastructure and the expertise to integrate it with our processes, so we can accelerate our powertrain development and meet the substantial challenge ahead.”
The journey began in 2021 when Red Bull revealed plans to establish itself as an independent Power Unit (PU) manufacturer for Formula One, leading to the formation of Red Bull Powertrains. As part of this initiative, RBFPT is tasked with crafting the 2026-specification PUs from scratch to power Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Alpha Tauri teams. This places RBFPT among only six manufacturers supplying engines for the F1 series in 2026.
A notable hurdle for RBFPT was starting the design process without historical product data, akin to a startup venture. OCI empowered the team to overcome this challenge by providing a platform for highly specialized digital simulations, aiding in shaping optimal engine designs and configurations. OCI’s high-performance shapes, specifically designed for demanding tasks like Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, play a crucial role in optimizing the power unit’s output while aligning with F1’s stringent requirements.
The collaboration between RBFPT and Oracle showcases the pivotal role of cloud technology in the future of motorsports, where sustainable practices and cutting-edge engineering converge. Stay tuned for more updates on this dynamic partnership and its impact on the Formula One racing landscape.
